Human Resource Development: Practices and Orthodoxies

Samenvatting

The book 'Human Resource Development: Practices and Orthodoxies' bringstogether an internationally recognised group of contributors to provide a critical overview of contemporary concepts, practices and orthodoxies in human resource development (HRD). It focuses on four key areas of HRD thinking and practice; formative concepts; training and development interventions; career development practices; and team development practices. Each chapter identifies the theoretical and empirical starting points, and outlines the context, history, and current utilisation. Theoretical critique is enhanced by practical examples, providing a critical, but highly accessible examination of contemporary HRD practice.

Marianne van Woerkom and Saskia Tjepkema (Chapter 3: Positive and Critical: Enhancing Constructive Critical Reflection in Groups) provide a very thoughtful critique of the notion of critical reflection from an individual and group perspective. They emphasize the incorporation of emotion and the unconscious, giving attention to ‘mindfulness’ as an additional part of the process, which previously has focused on rational cognitive aspects. They then turn their attention to how reflection can be developed in groups. Their starting point is that critical reflection in group settings can be emotionally as well as mentally challenging and that one should always recognize the pivotal role of ‘unconscious’ processes in learning. To counter the emotional downside, their focus is on accentuating the positive in team building, emphasizing successes achieved and goals to aim for as opposed to problems to be resolved. They provide a number of case study examples of intervention methods.